Friday, July 14, 2017

July 14th

Big movers between the #41 and the #100 spot include "In The Chapel In The Moonlight" by Dean Martin (up 17 places from #58 to #41), "A Girl Like You" by The Young Rascals (up 34 places from #79 to #45), "Your Unchanging Love" by Marvin Gaye (up 22 spots from #69 to #47), "The Happening" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (up from #72 to #53), "My Mammy", another chestnut revived by The Happenings (which climbs from #97 to #55, a move of 42 places, which means there are TWO "happening" tunes happening on the chart this week!), "Take Me Just As I Am" by Solomon Burke (#75 to #59), "The River Is Wide" by The Forum (up 23 spots from #93 to #70), "To Love Somebody" by The Bee Gees (up 29 spots from #100 to #71), "My World Fell Down" (one of my all-time favorites), which climbs from #89 to #72), "Don't Let The Rain Fall Down On Me" by The Critters, up 24 places from #98 to #74, "Blues' Theme" by our buddy Davie Allan and the Arrows (#92 to #79, back on the chart again after its initial late April run, now that it is a success in a new wave of cities across the country) and "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by Vanilla Fudge (##96 to #81), a very heavy reworking of the #1 Supremes hit from the year before. 



The Recording Industry Association of America awarded gold record certification for the Association's single "Windy", only seven weeks after it premiered on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Although the Association interpreted the song's subject as a girl, composer Ruthann Friedman had a free-spirited guy in mind when she wrote the song. Bones Howe produced the Warner Bros. release, which included a recorder flute solo musical bridge. 

"Windy" became The Association's second No. 1 hit on July 1, five weeks after its premier on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and remained at the top of the chart for four consecutive weeks.  ("Cherish" topped the charts for the band the year before.)  The record, released on the Warner Bros. label, ousted the Young Rascals' "Groovin'" and held the top spot until making way for "Light My Fire," the scorching hit by the Doors. After dropping from the #1 position, "Windy" remained on the chart for five more weeks.

Before original member Russ Giguere retired, he always enjoyed performing these and other familiar hits while on tour with the Association. "We always have some surprises in the show. If you don't do the hits, though, they're gonna lynch ya. Some of the people in the audience are named Cherish and Windy. That's just the way it is," Russ told authors Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March for their first book "Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? Volume 1."   

The WMCA Good Guys emcee The Monkees concert tonight at The Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in New York City.  It will be their first of three consecutive night appearances at this venue.  Jimi Hendrix is still onboard as their opening act.  

Here's how the charts shaped up here in Chicago on this date ...




Also in Chicago, The Lovin' Spoonful performed concerts at The Civic Opera House on both the 14th and the 15th of July.

Eddie Matthews of The Houston Astros becomes the seventh member of The 500 Home Run Club when he homers off of San Francisco Giants Pitcher Juan Marichal.  This is the first time in Major League Baseball History that a future Hall Of Fame Pitcher gave up somebody's 500th Home Run.